Hollywood Dinner by Curtis Stone

Hello! I just had the fanciest dinner and lunch and cooking lesson from Curtis Stone. What is going on? I guess no one knows I’m not fancy! I tried to pretend by hiding my doubts under my big hair…

 

I was in Los Angeles for a blog event with Bosch. The first night we had a private dinner made by Curtis Stone. (Please note I just wrote ‘my’ Curtis Stone instead of ‘by’ – busted!)

Dinner was at a super fancy home in the hills with the Hollywood sign in the background. It was AMAZING. The views of Los Angeles and the sign – amazing. The food – amazing. The private cooking lesson (that I made up in my head) – amazing.

That’s Downtown LA in the background.

And you might have heard about a little town in California called Hollyland or Hollytown or something like that, I can’t remember…

Hollywood!

“Cheers” to sneaking into fancy situations I have no business in…

Curtis Stone has two local restaurants and works with Bosch. He cooked dinner and walked us through one of the appetizers. I got a quick lesson in the walnut focaccia (it was delicious).

I was super scared to help but he put me on the grill – I don’t even own a grill! But then I realized this isn’t that crazy cooking show with the chef that yells at everyone. Whew!

So I womaned up and did my job.

I did it! I didn’t burn myself or the focaccia – and that’s all I got.

Curtis Stone is a super huge celebrity chef – but was the most down to earth, nice person. He was legit cooking and explaining everything to us and answering questions – it was a great night. I mean – I’m already a fan of good food and I love people who love food. This was perfection.

The theme of his restaurant is focused on walnuts right now so that was the focus of our meal. (They switch up the menu every month.)

Dessert was amazing and I have to note the little surprise…

It was a dairy free, gluten free cake. There was a chocolate walnut on top that was filled with banana mousse. It was amazing.

The night was gorgeous. It’s been super windy here – but that makes for clear skies.

And now I have a copy of Stone’s cookbook –Good Food Good Life. I’m excited to try a few new recipes.

Plus I’m pretty sure a side effect of making his food is that you start to develop an Australian accent. You can check out his website here – Curtis Stone.

Fun fact: If you say “rise up lights” fast it sounds like ‘razor blades’ with an Australian accent.

Question: Can you do an accent from another place? Which one? Do people believe it?

Me: nope. I wish I could do an Irish accent.

The post Hollywood Dinner by Curtis Stone appeared first on Run Eat Repeat.

source http://runeatrepeat.com/2017/04/30/hollywood-dinner-by-curtis-stone/

Blueberry Pie Oat Cookie – Easy No Bake Overnight Recipe

This Overnight Oats recipe is different from the usual oats soaked in yogurt or nut milk… This packs sweetened oats it into a cake / cookie crust so it’s thick and chewy. Then, top it with blueberries so it’s like pie. The best part is it’s ‘overnight’ or ‘no-bake’ so it’s a piece of cake to make (or pie, piece of pie…).

Hi! It’s National Blueberry Pie Day! And while I don’t consider pie dessert (I have a strict policy on that = “It must have chocolate to be considered dessert”) I do enjoy a sweet breakfast.

So I made this Blueberry Pie Breakfast Cookie that is as good as pie but a lot healthier than the original. Use stevia or cut back on the sugar and use nut butter instead of straight butter in the crust. Boom.

Whole grains. Healthy fats. Anti-oxidants. And we’re eating pie for breakfast!

Blueberry Pie Breakfast Cookie

Ingredients for crust:

• 1/3 cup oats
• 1 TB. nut butter, softened
• 1 packet sweetener (I used stevia)
• 2 Tb. vanilla OR salted caramel Greek yogurt
• dash: cinnamon, salt, vanilla

Blueberry ‘filling’:

• 1/3 cup frozen blueberries
• 1 packet sweetener

Toppings:

• Vanilla yogurt, nuts, seeds, fresh blueberries, whipped cream, ice cream, nothing…

Directions: Put oats, sweetener/salt/cinnamon and nut butter in a bowl. Smash together to form crumbly texture and mix. Add yogurt, mix. (Add more if needed.)

Place oat-cookie crust on a small plate and form into a thick cookie. Leave overnight (or while you run) to set.

In a separate bowl – combine frozen blueberries and sweetener. Let set overnight in fridge to thaw.

After 3 hours or more (overnight) stir blueberries.

Place thawed blueberries on top of oat cookie crust. Top with your favorites and enjoy!

Enjoy!

Question: When is the last time you had pie?

Me: I think this counts so I’ll say yesterday!

The post Blueberry Pie Oat Cookie – Easy No Bake Overnight Recipe appeared first on Run Eat Repeat.

source http://runeatrepeat.com/2017/04/28/blueberry-pie-oat-cookie-easy-no-bake-overnight-recipe/

The Hunt for the Best Chocolate Chip Cookie Is Back!

Hello! How’s it going? Over here it’s going great (because I’m eating an amazing chocolate cookie as I write this). I am in Los Angeles for an event and just wanted to check in and say hi!

First – let’s talk about running and eating…

I started the day with a 9 mile run while listening to okay podcasts. I have been listening to Watch What Crappins and am caught up on all their episodes so I had to listen to my ‘other’ list. I go through phases of being obsessed with one podcast / food / show / person / whatever and cannot get enough of it. Right now it’s that podcast.

I made a smoothie after my run but was out of spinach. This might be the first time that’s ever happened to me!? I ran out of the Crappens podcast and now spinach?! Get it together Monican!

After running and eating I got ready, did some work and then packed for an overnight stay in LA. Since I’m in south Orange County I am staying the night with the group at a hotel. A lot of the other attendees are from out of state. And LA traffic is ridic so driving hours and hours back and forth is no bueno.

Vegas helped me pack…

And before I knew it my car was there and I jumped in for the ride to the hotel. I brought my laptop so I could work. I’m so responsible (if you don’t consider the fact that I need to work because I’m behind on everything).

This is a blog event with Bosch – more on that later. We’re staying at the London Hotel in West Hollywood. I love a good hotel tour so I snapped pictures of everything. Plus – this is an amazing hotel room so I had to send pics to my one friend! I am totally that person who gets super excited about fancy stuff every single time.

The view is amazing!

You See L.A. – that was the punch-line to some joke we would always tell as kids and now I don’t remember the rest of it!

I can’t decide if I’m more excited about the cookie or the bathtub. Between the LA Marathon and the Boston Marathon I have wanted to take a bath so bad! Neither hotel I stayed in for those races had a bathtub in my room. Bummer.

Now this place has a fancy one AND I even brought epsom salts that I bought in Jerusalem to use but I am not going to have time for a tubberoo. Boo.

I should probably get ready for dinner now… see ya later!

Do you remember that I said I was on a mission to find the World’s Best Chocolate Chip Cookie years and years ago? Well, this cookie might have sparked that back up!

Question: Which of these would you want?

Pick one and only one of the following:

Bubble Bath

Chocolate chip cookie

Cat hair on everything

Your eye NOT itching after you just put on make-up

The post The Hunt for the Best Chocolate Chip Cookie Is Back! appeared first on Run Eat Repeat.

source http://runeatrepeat.com/2017/04/27/the-hunt-for-the-best-chocolate-chip-cookie-is-back/

Should You Run/Walk to Get Faster? Prevent Injury??

Everything you need to know about the Run/Walk method (aka Galloway method) of running! I’m talking with Jeff Galloway today – the creator of the Run/Walk method of running about how long each interval should be, why it works, does it make you run faster and more…

Hi! I was super excited to chat with Jeff Galloway this week. I’m very familiar with the Run/Walk method from doing research on half marathon training plans AND from the Run Disney races (I’ve done several). Galloway has several solid training plans to complete everything from a 5K to a marathon. He’s also the official training consultant for Run Disney and is at all the expos.

 

Check out more on the Run / Walk method on his site here.

Galloway Running Training Plans : 5K and 10K  // Half Marathon Training Plan  //  Marathon Training Plan

 

RER: How did you start doing Run/Walk training?

Galloway: I came up with the Run/Walk/Run method in 1974. I was opening the first specialty running store in the US. I was asked to teach a course for beginning runners. There was 22 people in the class and none had run in 5 years.

I broke the class up into 3 groups based on ability. I went out with eat group. At the end of the 10 week class all 22 finished a 5K or 10K. But what was most impressive was – NO Injuries.

The surprising thing is people can run faster with the right Run/Walk/Run – but on a hilly course it’s even more powerful. By putting walk breaks often enough you erase the fatigue.

We give our strategies based on pace per mile. This is based off of feedback from runners over the years. Over half a million runners over the years have reported their times.

(seen on his FB page / sold by Raw Threads)

RER: How long should you run for? And how long do you walk?

Galloway: A common Run/Walk combo is run 2 minutes / walk 30 seconds. The walking breaks are at most 30 seconds. We’ve done studies and that have show that to be the best amount of time. I suggest people try various Run/Walk combinations until they find the one that works for them.

We’ve found over the years and after hundreds of thousands of runners – what the best Run/Walk method is in terms of time intervals. The 30 second walk break provides the most benefit in terms of time on a walk break.

RER: Can a marathon runner use the Run/Walk method?

Galloway: Yes, the fastest marathon to note is one that improved from 2:33 to 2:28. They  inserted a walk break every mile.

I’ve heard from over 200 people who couldn’t break 3 hours and took a walk break every mile. The average improvement is over 13 minutes. For the sub-3 hour marathon crowd it depends on their pace, it’s usually running 6-7 minutes per mile and then walking 30 seconds.

RER: Can you use the Run/Walk method to get faster?

Galloway: Yes. Every week I hear from somebody who sets a personal record.  You pass people at the end of the race instead of being passed. And you’re not going to be out of commission after the race.

RER: I saw on Instagram you have a Run Camp in Big Sur? What is it?

Galloway: I’ve been going to Big Sur for two decades. It was wonderful to get to know the area. Half the time I stayed in Carmel and made friends there. It’s a great place to run. I decided to work with the Lamp Lighter Inn and start a winter retreat there. The last few years we’ve done this at the Inn.

Then the city was interested in expanding the area for more fitness activities. They proposed a series of weekend retreats. The wanted to bring runners and walkers and hikers to the area. The weather is spectacular. All of the sessions are outside.

It’s marketed to runners so it’s a Running Retreat. We are opening it up so runners can bring someone who is not a runner.

RER: I’ve read and heard from several sources that Big Sur is the Most Beautiful Marathon in the US – do you agree?

Galloway: I originally went to Big Sur with Runner’s World. The race officials heard my clinic and asked me to come back. I love the event. I really appreciate the people who put it on.

It’s the most beautiful course I’ve ever seen – and I’ve run 216 marathons!

Everyone has their favorite race course for one reason or another but for the beauty category it’s Big Sur.

RER: But it’s a hard course right?

Galloway: Yes, but those able to run at a training pace – it’s not very tough. If you choose the right run/walk/run intervals.

Strategic walk breaks placed early and often can cut the difficulty of the hills down. I’ve heard from several people who have set PRs at Big Sur by following my advice.

RER: Do you change up the Run/Walk intervals on a hilly course?

Galloway: Yes, you change it when there’s adversity. Big Sur has had a lot of diversity – there was one year with a lot of wind. The hills are another issue. In both cases if you don’t back off in those situations you’re going to use your reserves early and bad things can happen.

I’ve heard from over 10,000 runners who used it for the first time in the race. Only about 5 said it doesn’t work – but the odds are good.

RER: I’ve seen a lot of Run/Walkers at Disney races. When their watch beeps for a walking break I’ve seen runners raise their hand so the people behind them know they’re stopping – is that part of what you teach?

Galloway: Yes, I’m the official training consultant for Run Disney. I’ve met about 3,000 people who say it’s changed their lives.

The Galloway Team Members are the pace group leaders. The protocol is when a beeper beeps the leader tells the people to get to the side of the road.

RER: Anything else you’d like to share?

Galloway: We love to help people improve the quality of life through running. If anybody has questions please reach out.

The running journal has tips and a clear breakdown for 52 weeks of running and space to take notes.

For more information check out his books and follow him on social media:

Jeff Galloway website

Jeff Galloway Run / Walk Method book   //  Jeff Galloway Running Journal  //  Mental Training for Runners (his newest book)

Jeff Galloway Running Retreats

Question: Have you ever tried the Run / Walk method? What are your intervals?

Do you use a journal to track your running and eating?

The post Should You Run/Walk to Get Faster? Prevent Injury?? appeared first on Run Eat Repeat.

source http://runeatrepeat.com/2017/04/26/should-you-runwalk-to-get-faster-prevent-injury/